Wind and Blood
by cuddles and coffee
Summary: Trav has just been kicked out of his house again- this time for good. He befriends the gang by extreme measures, but will he be more trouble than they expected? (tbh idk where this is going, I just want to write again).
**Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders (too bad).**

I had nowhere else to go that freezing cold night. It was pouring down rain, with cracks of thunder every few seconds. Water rushed down the streets and resembled a black river, taking with it everything in its path. It had been a mere minute since I stepped outside my house, and the icy rain had already soaked through my hoodie. I tucked my chin down and scowled to myself, pissed at the weather for making this night worse than it already was. My "father" had kicked me out for the fifth consecutive night this week, and it wasn't a pretty scene to witness. I had been home for less than a few minutes, and only had time to use the bathroom before I was met with a confrontation. As soon as I opened the door, the pissed face of my drunk dad was there to greet me.

"Gimme you's money boy, I know you got you's paycheck today." His voice was slurred tremendously, and his breath stank of cinnamon whiskey. I cringed slightly and looked down. I knew arguing was futile, but I felt I still had to try.

"Dad, we need the money for-" I began softly, trying my best not to make too much eye contact or else I would be deemed as 'disrespectful and looking for a fight'.

"YOU LOOK A' ME YOU UNGRATEFUL BOY!" His chin trembled when he yelled, his face twisted into one of contempt. I could never win.

"I'm sorry, sir." I took a deep breath, surprised when my apology wasn't met by more screams. "But, we need the money to pay for food, sir."

I knew I had hit a nerve when I saw the pure fury in his dark brown eyes. He didn't yell this time, but spoke in a dangerously low tone.

"Get. Outta. My. House." I knew better than to test him when he was in this state. I nodded slightly and went to reach for my backpack that was resting against the opposite wall. Suddenly, a blinding pain spread across my back and I cried out in surprise and agony. It burned. My father had thrown his glass bottle, still half full of liquor, and hit me with startling accuracy for a drunk man. I could feel the warmth as blood spread across my skin from glass embedded there.

"NOW! And don't you e'er think about comin' back, or imma beat you's ass til' you stop breathin'!" He roared, and pointed at the door with a shaking arm.

I swallowed and replied with a hoarse, "Yes, sir," ducking my head and darting out the door. When I felt the large, cold raindrops coat my hair, I automatically flipped up my hood. Sometimes my father was right about things, like how I could look like a total no-good hood without even trying. I brushed some water off my brow, and winced when my fingers touched the large bump that my father had left there yesterday. Fight after fight, that was what my home had become. A residential war zone. Well, previously residential.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I started down the road, being blown to the side slightly by the harsh wind. My long strides became staggers as the pain in my back turned into a searing ache. I let out a heavy sigh as I pondered where I should go…was there anywhere I really could go? I had stayed at Buck's a few times before, but he and I hadn't left on good terms, and I doubt I would be welcome there. I hate to admit it, but I really don't have any good friends in Tulsa, at least none that would let me crash at their place. And no self-respecting store owner would allow a greaser to loiter around at half-past midnight.

"Shit..." I mumbled under my breath. "Good job Trav, you've really screwed yourself over this time."

My only real option here was to try and find shelter, and I decided to try my luck with the park…maybe there was a cluster of trees that blocked out some of the storm. However, there was a pressing concern: pain. As humiliating as it is to admit, getting the shit beat out of you every day will take a toll on even the toughest hood, and I was beginning to question whether or not my body could take a five mile walk. There was also the fact that the longer I stayed roaming about, the more likely I was to get jumped. That was literally the last thing I needed at the moment.

Lost in my thoughts, I already had completed a quarter of the journey. A voice to the left of me made me snap my head in alarm.

'Please, please don't be socs,' I thought desperately, squinting to make out the figures in the blinding curtain of rain.

There were two silhouettes, one much taller than the other.

"Johnny, I swear…come with me to the Curtis's. Any longer in the rain and you're gonna get pneumonia or some shit." The voice was strong, but with a slight bored drawl to it. The second voice however, was much more timid, quivering slightly.

"Aw, Dally, you know I don't wanna bother Darry…him and Soda have been working late and-" The stronger voice, "Dally", cut him off there.

"You shut your trap Cade. You're never a bother to them, you're like our brother. Now come with me, or imma drag your ass all the way to their place."

At that, my mouth pulled up into a slight smirk, and the tension in my chest lifted. They were greasers, and weren't looking for a fight tonight either. With the anxiety gone, it was as if my body just decided it was done for the night. My knees shook slightly, and it was all I could do not to collapse right where I stood. The awareness that I wasn't alone slowly faded away, and sheer exhaustion overtook me. I managed a few steps forward, before realizing something. This was a vacant lot, and there was nothing here that would protect me from the weather. Anywhere I slept would only get me even more soaked. Exasperated with defeat, I fell to my knees and then laid flat on my stomach, hoping I wouldn't accidentally roll onto my back in the middle of the night. No bed at home and being away from home often meant I had learned to sleep pretty much anywhere, and in any condition. Mud, flooding, and deafening thunder? Not an issue at all.

I closed my eyes, trying to block out the events that took place tonight, and instead listened to the white noise nature provided for me. Soon I forgot I wasn't in a bed, that I wasn't warm, that I was probably going to wake up feeling like hell frozen over tomorrow. My mind slowly shut down and succumbed to the fatigue that was beckoning me sweetly. I was almost passed out when I heard a sharp, and rather loud, voice call out about a foot away from where I laid.

"Glory, Dally, look at the blood on him! Is he dead?"

I was jolted awake, and I tried to lift my head, to tell them I was fine…or at least alive. But seconds later, a wave of tingling nausea passed over me, and the world went entirely black.

 **A/N: Reviews would be so much appreciated, please help me out and tell me what you liked or disliked :)**


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